Unless you want to play Crysis or some other cutting edge game, that computer should be fine. If you're paying anything extra, just consider it a convenience cost.

On the other hand, the 8600 series sucks both in performance and cost/performance ratio. Get a 8800 GT. I'd also revert to XP or Linux (Ubuntu) if you're not playing games, especially if you're sticking with the 8600.

I'm going to buy a new hard drive and install Ubuntu on it in December, I think. So I'll let you know how that goes. I might also build a Penryn machine. On the one hand, Nehalem! On the other hand, Eve is upgrading graphics right now.

Dwindlehop wrote:I'm going to buy a new hard drive and install Ubuntu on it in December, I think. So I'll let you know how that goes.

I hope "it" isn't using an ATI card. I installed Ubuntu on Shinomori (Athlon XP 2500+, Barton core with a Radeon 9500 non-pro) and the graphics subsystem was horrid. Supposedly Nvidia is even more of a king when it comes to Linux support.

I haven't changed that setup yet. Ubuntu and a 8800GT would be the first serious changes. In fact, that's all I would do at this time, except I have an AGP motherboard and so require a CPU upgrade if I want a GPU upgrade.